


Save Your Kisses For Me

by ishipallthings



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Steve, Relationship Reveal, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21971827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishipallthings/pseuds/ishipallthings
Summary: It’s nearly Christmas, and Steve Rogers’ biggest problem is that he’s terrible at keeping his new relationship with Tony under wraps. Oh, and he still needs to find the perfect Christmas present for his boyfriend.That is, until Tony gets hurt on a mission. Then Steve has a new problem.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 62
Kudos: 466
Collections: 2019 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	Save Your Kisses For Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [avengersincamphalfbloodstardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengersincamphalfbloodstardis/gifts).



> This fic is inspired by the short prompt "secret dating", I also couldn't resist writing some hurt/comfort :) And I think exchanging presents counts as "holiday traditions" too.
> 
> Fun fact: this is my first time writing established Steve/Tony in a longer fic.
> 
> Many thanks to erde and Stef for the great beta work, and also to the mods for running another round of this awesome event.
> 
> avengersincamphalfblood, I hope you like this, happy holidays!
> 
> Title is from the song by Brotherhood of Man.

* * *

“You know, if you keep looking at me like that, we’re not going to make it through the game without Nat catching on,” Steve says quietly as Tony settles down next to him, tie askew, with one arm thrown carelessly across the back of the couch. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Rogers.” Tony turns to Steve with wide-eyed innocence, even as he reaches up to undo the top-most button on his white dress shirt, revealing a hint of tanned skin. Damned tease.

Steve swallows and looks away, his fingers clenching on his thighs. He’s trying very hard not to think about kissing his way down Tony’s throat and tangling his hands in Tony’s hair, leaning in and breathing in Tony’s unique scent before having a taste.

“Don’t play with me, you know exactly what you’re doing.” Steve retorts. 

“Why, Captain, are you accusing me of jerking you around?” Tony’s words are tinged with suggestion, and Steve can’t help a shudder as Tony’s lips brush past his ear, his voice husky and low. He pauses strategically on one word in particular, shooting Steve a look from under his eyelashes that Steve knows all too well.

Darting a quick look at the open doorway of the communal living room, Steve lets out a noise of frustration. He really wants to kiss that stupid smug smile off Tony’s face right now.

“We agreed - no more distractions when the others are around, and you know Nat and Clint are gonna be back any second.” Scowling, Steve crosses his arms over his chest and whispers out of the corner of his mouth. “This is payback for last week, isn’t it?”

“You mean when you-” 

“Don’t. Say. It.” 

Tony shrugs. “Technically we are alone, even if I have no idea what’s keeping the Wonder Twins so long.”

“You’re just trying to rile me up so that I’ll slip, admit it,” Steve says knowingly, a note of fond exasperation slipping into his voice. He wants to be annoyed, but he does kind of deserve it after last week, and it’s not Tony’s fault he looks absolutely delectable in a suit.

“By last count you were ahead, 12 to 8 since last week. Besides...” Tony pauses, and Steve doesn’t even have to look at Tony to know that he’s grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “You’re cute when you’re blushing.”

Goddamnit. Bracing his hands on his thighs, Steve gets to his feet. He doesn’t look at Tony, because he doesn’t think he’ll be able to keep his hands off him if he does. “Your room, five minutes. I’ll tell Nat you’re tired from your meeting. We’ll reschedule the game.”

“You know I’m counting this as a win, right?” Tony grins at him as the elevator doors close. Steve wonders if he can beat Tony to his floor if he takes the stairs.

* * *

Tony’s laugh is warm as Steve pulls him down by his tie, the sound muffled by the gentle, sweet press of Steve’s lips on his. Wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist, Steve settles back into the couch, balancing his boyfriend carefully in his lap before leaning in for another kiss. By the time they break apart, Tony is breathing hard, and he’s gazing down at Steve with a look of unabashed delight.

It’s been more than two months since Tony first kissed him in the workshop one night, and Steve doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the fact that Tony wants him back, that Steve’s the one who can make him smile like that, beautiful and bright. 

“Yep, I’m calling this a win,” Tony says happily, cat-who-got-the-cream satisfaction written on his face as he presses even closer to Steve.

Stroking the long curls at the back of Tony’s head, Steve kisses him in lieu of a reply, pulling a groan out of Tony’s throat. He bites down sharply at Tony’s bottom lip before soothing the hurt with his tongue. “You got me all worked up, now you’re going to have to deal with it.”

“Trust me, darling, I’m very happy to.” Steve lets out a soft whine as Tony starts kissing his way down Steve’s neck, mouthing at his pulse point in a way that he knows drives Steve absolutely wild.

“Trying to mark me, sweetheart?” Steve asks in a low voice, enjoying the way Tony’s eyes widen in response to his words.

He feels a flare of excitement at the thought of Tony leaving marks on him, and for once he wishes that the serum wouldn’t work so well. Maybe it’s a little juvenile, but the idea thrills him a bit. They’re keeping things quiet from the team for now, though, and Steve has no idea how he would explain having a hickey to the others without giving it away.

“I’ll do my best,” Tony says, sounding very pleased with the task ahead, and Steve feels a tingle of anticipation spread across his body.

Pulling Tony back up for a kiss, Steve tightens his arms around his boyfriend and hums contentedly. “Better get started then, Shellhead. You know Thor’s planning to get us all up early tomorrow to start hanging all the lights and decorating the tree.”

“Can we please not talk about Thor right now? I’d rather talk about getting you out of these stupid khakis.” Tony responds, already making quick work of Steve’s shirt buttons.

Steve runs a hand down Tony’s back and grins up at him. “I might need some help with that.”

“Lucky for you, I’m an expert.” Tony quips. Steve opens his mouth to tell Tony that’s just what he was counting on, but then Tony moves to kiss him again, and Steve decides that he has better things to be doing right now.

* * *

Steve takes a long drink out of his coffee mug before setting it back down on the table. He had woken up early for a run that morning, and a very sleepy Tony had demanded morning kisses for disturbing his rest. Steve had been all too happy to comply, despite the morning breath.

“What’s got you so chipper this morning?” Steve starts at the sound of Nat’s voice, thankful he’s not holding a cup of hot coffee in his hands right now. 

“Good coffee.” 

Nat cocks an eyebrow at him as he meets her gaze. She looks at him steadily for a moment before shaking her head with a grin. “That sounds like something Tony would say, Steve. I think he’s rubbing off on you.” 

“What-” Steve splutters, feeling a telling heat spread across his face. He coughs loudly, taking the chance to turn away from Nat and work to keep his expression under control.

“You okay there, Steve?” There are dark circles under Bruce’s eyes and Steve would bet that he’s stayed up all night with another one of his experiments. His guess is strengthened by the look of pleasure on Bruce’s face at the sight of the coffee-pot, which Nat hands to him with a fond sigh. 

“Fine, it’s nothing.” Steve looks up at Bruce, who’s drinking greedily from his own coffee mug, emblazoned with a caricature of Thor and Mjolnir. It was a joke of Clint’s that had stuck - Steve, for one, is pretty happy with his Iron Man mug. “What were you working on?”

“I was working on something in the lab for Tony, as his Christmas present, but the results aren’t what I predicted. I’ll take another stab at it this afternoon.”

“Get some rest first, there’s more than a week left,” Nat tells him. “We don’t want a repeat of the exploding glue incident.”

Steve suppresses a shudder at that particular memory, choosing to focus on the seed of anxiety tugging at his stomach. There’s more than a week left until Christmas, but he still hasn’t come up with the right present for Tony. He’s starting to worry that he won’t be able to in time. It’s their first Christmas together since they started dating, and he wants it to be a good one. More than good. He wants it to be one to remember - the first of many Christmases together with Tony, if Steve’s lucky. 

“Actually, speaking of presents, I, uh, I need some advice.” Steve rubs a hand across his neck, hoping he can make it through this conversation without revealing anything. Tony won’t let him live it down if he gets up to 13. 

“I can’t figure out the right present for someone, and I really want to get it right. Any tips?” 

“Someone special?” Surprisingly, the question comes from Bruce, and not Natasha, who is looking at him consideringly.

“Yeah, they’re pretty great.” Steve feels warm all over, and he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. Things with Tony are pretty new, but Steve thinks they have what it takes to make it work. Tony’s made him happier than he can remember being in a long time, and Steve hopes he does the same for Tony.

There’s something soft in Nat’s gaze as she looks at Steve over the top of her mug, and Steve wonders if she knows exactly who he’s talking about. “Well, then, think about what’s important to them, and also what you want to show them with your gift.”

“It’s a cliche, but it really is the thought that counts, so don’t worry too much,” Bruce says gently, placing a warm hand on Steve’s shoulder. 

“You’ve fought Nazis. You pranked Wolverine and got away with it. You’ll be fine, Cap.” Nat smirks at Steve, who rolls his eyes in response. 

“That prank was entirely Clint’s fault and you know it.” Glancing down at his watch, Steve gives a double-take. Shit, he’s late for his breakfast date with Tony. They’ve been wanting to try out that new bagel place that’s opened a few blocks down for weeks. 

“Thanks, guys, that helps.” Steve stands up to leave his mug in the sink, waving at Bruce and Nat when he turns to go. “I gotta go, I’m meeting someone for, um, coffee.” 

“Didn’t you just finish your coffee?” Bruce asks.

Crap. “Oh yeah, well, we’re getting coffee but also pastries, breakfast, you know…” Steve stammers. He can tell that they aren’t really buying it, but if he stays to try and fix it, he’ll be even later and he doesn’t want to keep Tony waiting.

Tony laughs at Steve for a full two minutes over breakfast and makes him pay for the bagels. They hold hands and play footsie at a table at the back of the cafe, and when Steve leans over to steal a kiss, Tony tastes of coffee and cinnamon. It’s more than worth another slip-up.

* * *

Steve settles back into his seat on the Quinjet, reaching into his belt pocket for his phone. He hasn’t exactly been thrilled about being away from Tony on a mission just days before Christmas, but at least they’re on their way home now, and he’s made it with time to spare before Christmas Eve. Sam and Rhodey are playing UNO to pass the time, but all Steve wants right now is to hear Tony’s voice, even if he can’t say everything he wants to in front of the others.

Steve’s disappointed when it goes to voicemail, but it’s probably just that Tony’s stuck in another meeting. They’ve been off the grid for the duration of the mission though, and Steve’s really missed his boyfriend. He’s debating whether or not he should text Tony (he does love distracting Tony, especially when he shouldn’t) when an incoming call from SHELLHEAD flashes across his screen.

Steve grins happily and accepts the call. “Hey, Tony.” 

“Hey, Steve.” Steve blinks when he hears Pepper’s voice. She sounds subdued, and suddenly Steve is breathing hard through a hot flash of panic. Tony isn’t answering his phone and Pepper’s tone of voice isn’t exactly reassuring. Why isn’t Tony answering his phone?

“Pepper, what happened? Where’s Tony?” Steve’s voice too loud and too high to his own ears as Rhodey and Sam come up behind him, faces set with worry at the mention of Tony’s name. 

Rhodey’s hand braces Steve’s shoulder as he puts his phone down to get Pepper on speaker-phone. “Pep, you’re on speaker.”

“They were dealing with a mission and civilians got in the way. There was an explosion, Tony took a hard hit.” Steve’s hands shake as he grabs onto the table in front of him, his vision blurring. Tony’s hurt and Steve’s not with him. He wasn’t there to protect Tony. 

Steve’s voice isn’t entirely steady when he asks his next question. “How - how bad was it?” 

“All things considered, he’s pretty damn lucky but we worried there for a bit. Three cracked ribs, he has a couple of severe burns and some bruising. He doesn’t have a concussion, so he insisted on coming back to the Tower instead of staying in Medical.” Steve hears Pepper let out a sigh. “We wanted to let you guys know earlier, but we weren’t sure when you’d be done with the mission.”

Distantly, Steve hears Rhodey inform Pepper that they’re on their way back and asking her to update them if anything changes. _If Tony gets worse_ , Steve thinks, and a swell of fear builds in his throat at the thought, flooding his mouth with a bitter aftertaste. He knows the risks involved in their line of work, but oh god, this is the first time Tony’s been seriously injured since they started becoming something more, and somehow it’s so much harder to take now. Steve can’t lose him.

Steve closes his eyes, remembering the look on Tony’s face a few days ago when he’d kissed Steve goodbye and told him to get back in one piece. Right now, he wants nothing more than to hold Tony’s hand and see that smile again. 

* * *

“Steve?” Tony’s voice, hoarse and dry as he blinks awake, immediately becomes Steve’s favorite sound in the entire world.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I’m here.” Steve presses a soft kiss to the back of Tony’s hand, still held tightly in his, and lets out a watery laugh. 

The doctors had told him that Tony would be fine with treatment and plenty of rest, but it wasn’t their reassurances he needed. He needed Tony. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

“What’re talking about, babe? You were on a mission.” Tony’s words are sleepy but certain, his eyes searching Steve’s face. “S’not your fault.” 

“I just - I should have been there, should have had your back. God, Tony, when Pepper told me you were hurt - you don’t know how terrified I was.” Steve winces. “I, uh, I may have yelled at the doctors.” 

The sight of Tony hurt and lying so still in bed, was agonizing. It had made him think of days spent huddled under the covers, trying not to cough too loudly so his Ma could get some more sleep even as his lungs seized up. Except now it was Tony who was hurting, and that was so much worse. 

“Seriously?” Tony says. Steve can tell he’s trying hard not to laugh, probably to save himself from more pain.

“And uh, the others know about us now, I was pretty freaked out and I wasn’t up to hiding anything, I needed to be with you.” Steve reaches over to sweep Tony’s hair away from his forehead, watching his face carefully for any signs of an upset reaction.

“Couldn’t make it to New Year’s, huh? I told you you’d be the one to let it slip.” Tony’s teasing is colored with tenderness, and relief loosens the knot at the back of Steve’s throat at his words. Not for the first time since he’s gotten back to the Tower, Steve finds himself blinking back tears, only this time, it’s accompanied by a smile.

“Hey, now I get to brag about my genius billionaire philanthropist boyfriend, I have no regrets,” Steve counters, basking in the glow of Tony’s smile.

“I have dibs on bragging rights and you know it, Rogers. After all, I kissed you first.”

Still cradling Tony’s hand in his, Steve leans forward and gently touches his lips to Tony’s forehead.

“I’m really glad you did, Tony,” Steve says softly. He knows Tony feels the same.

* * *

“I know we’re doing presents now, but I already got my gift for this year.” Clint grins at Steve as he stretches back on the bed, his head in Thor’s lap. “Now we can stop pretending we don’t know about you two, that was getting really old.” 

Thor booms with laughter, and Bruce and Nat trade matching grins. Steve fights the urge to dive under the covers, or at least bury his face in Tony’s shoulder, away from the knowing gazes of his team. “He’s right, neither of you were good at being subtle, though Tony was a bit better.”

“Steve wouldn’t believe me when I said that he would be the one to give it away. That’s why we decided to keep it under wraps for a bit. We were going to tell you guys on New Year’s.” Tony grins unabashedly and tips his head in Rhodey’s direction. “Except for honeybear over here. He found out a few weeks ago.”

“I’m not sure how you would have talked your way out of it, considering what you two were-” Rhodey says, rolling his eyes in Steve and Tony’s direction.

“You know what? I really don’t want to know,” Clint says. Steve wants to hug him in thanks. If Rhodey had finished the rest of the story, he’d really have to spend the rest of the day, hell the rest of the week, hiding from his team out of mortification.

Sam ends up getting the first pick for who gets to unwrap their presents. Tony is third, and when Steve hands him a stocking and shows him the little Iron Man and Cap figurines inside, along with the many, many post-its (“Love notes? You sap.”), he laughs delightedly. When Steve shows him the stockings for JARVIS, DUM-E, You and Butterfingers, there’s something akin to wonder in his eyes and Steve has to kiss him for it (“You love them, and I love them too.”) 

Steve is seventh. Tony shyly hands over a hand-made scrapbook, which Steve flips open to reveal his mother’s recipes written down in Tony’s looping, familiar script, along with pictures of Steve’s cooking attempts and little notes scrawled on the margins. He looks at the gift, at how Tony worked to give Steve something of his past that he loved, in this home, this future that Tony gave him. He thinks of the post-it confession he left for Tony to find in his stocking, how he’s been trying to find the courage to tell him for weeks, and it’s suddenly the easiest thing in the world to say.

“I love you.”

The look on Tony’s face is the brightest thing Steve’s ever seen. When Steve leans in to kiss him, they’re both grinning too hard to do it properly, but it doesn’t matter, especially when Tony whispers back “I love you too.”

It’s definitely a Christmas to remember.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are the best gifts!
> 
> I'm on twitter and tumblr as ishipallthings, come talk to me about stevetony :)


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